Most handguns and many rifles employ a cartridge magazine for holding several cartridges and feeding those cartridges to the firing chamber of the handgun or rifle in an automatic or semi-automatic manner. When used with handguns, the conventional cartridge magazines fit into the frame of the handgrip of the handgun, located behind the trigger, or in front of the trigger depending on the weapon type.
Firearms are increasingly being provided with lights. For example, many handguns are provided with a light mounting rail formed on the pistol frame, such as on the underside or top side or on either side of the barrel. Such a mounting rail is often referred to in the art as a “light rail”. The light rail has been used for mounting whitelights, infrared and laser illuminating devices and telescopic sights, for example.
Lights have also been mounted on or near the magazine. For example, US Published Patent Application U.S. 2002172034 describes a light source guide for attachment to a bottom of a firearm magazine with rails and other attachments for mounting thereon a flashlight.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,875 describe an illumination source and mounting system to be detachably secured to a family of firearms including pistols, revolvers and long guns. A “mount-to-magazine interface” aligns the light beam to provide illumination at a fixed range impact point.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,683 to Christiansen describes a flashlight adapter for a handgun having a base retainer receivable into the interior of a magazine through a distal end thereof. A spring biases the base retainer toward the distal end. The magazine has a flange about the distal end of the magazine. A magazine base is removably engaged on the flange and is secured in its assembled position by protuberances extending from the base retainer being received in apertures in the magazine base. The magazine base has a channel therein for receiving a light holder for holding a flashlight therein. The light holder is selectively received within the magazine base.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,872 to Langner describes a power supply for a laser sighting device, or other accessory on a firearm, which is located in the bottom of the cartridge magazine separate from the laser sighting device itself, and which has an on/off switch location automatically engaged by the hand of the user when the firearm is in use.